


What's Your Problem?

by rainyryuzaki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alya Césaire Is The Best, Declarations Of Love, Dialogue Heavy, F/M, Flirting, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste, Humor, ITS FUNNY OK, Identity Reveal, Jealousy, Oblivious Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Slow Burn, Teen Angst, Teenage Drama
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-25
Updated: 2020-03-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:42:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22397278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainyryuzaki/pseuds/rainyryuzaki
Summary: “𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒅𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈?" 𝑨𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒅, 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏. "𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒚?”𝑭𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒙 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒎𝒖𝒈 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒄𝒆. “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖? 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇. 𝒀𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔.”𝑯𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕. 𝑯𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒖𝒑𝒔𝒆𝒕. 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒅, “𝒀𝒐𝒖’𝒓𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒈𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒀𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒏’𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖?”“𝑨𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒇𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅?”AKA where Felix transfers to their high school for a month and is deadset on making Marinette his girlfriend.AKA where Adrien realizes through jealousy that his heart beats only for Marinette
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Alya Césaire/Nino Lahiffe, Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Felix Agreste
Comments: 98
Kudos: 782





	1. I Choose This Seat, Move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up! normal lines like "____" indicate time skips whereas "****" indicates flashbacks. italics indicate internal thoughts, flashbacks, as well as emphasis on certain words. okay! that's all! enjoy :)

Hearing about Felix’s visit made the younger cousin feel quite ecstatic. It was always lonely in the household so having a friend would be fun. Or so he had thought. You see.. Felix had always been.. a polar opposite of Adrien. The teenager was too serious for his own good, a smile on his face extremely rare. He had no partake in “putting it nicely” and would in fact be very blunt to the point where most get offended. Truth be told, Felix hated just about everybody. So when Adrien got the news that he would be transferring to his high school for a month, he was a bit anxious.

As the days grew nearer until Felix’s arrival he began to pace back and forth in his room, nerves making him unable to focus. The poor thing couldn’t even hold his staff steady while on missions or patrol. Even Ladybug told him to take a few days off to rest a bit. Reluctantly, he accepted. After hours of figuring out what to do in the worst case scenario, he decided he needed to “warn” his friends on how grumpy Felix tended to be.

* * *

“Just don’t take it personal! he’s always kind of angry.”

Nino laughed giving Adrien a pat on the back that startled him, sometimes Adrien wondered if Nino knew his strength. “Okay, dude. thanks for telling me.”

* * *

“He’s not a bad person, just a little bitter.”

Alya pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose before putting a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow in question. “Okay. but if I hear ONE thing I don’t like I am not afraid to give your cousin a little _talk_ for you.”

* * *

He had told about everybody in his class, although he had forgotten to mention it to someone. “HIS COUSIN IS COMING? What if he’s just as dreamy? What if he’s nice to me? I can't handle that! Alya you know I’m a mess! Why didn’t he tell me?!” She had been tugging on her pigtails with a panicked expression, lying down on her back in the middle of the room with the lights off. It was now just three days before his arrival on Monday and Marinette had only just heard the news from Alya.

“Get off the floor, at least.”

“The floor is my only friend now.” She complained, hissing when Alya turned on the lights.

“Come on! it’ll be fine.” Alya insisted, helping Marinette sit up. The two had now been sitting on her polka dot chaise, Alya smiling earnestly. “Sooo, what do you want to do?”

“Die.”

Alya watched her best friend collapse her back onto the couch, covering her eyes with a deadpan expression. “It’s Friday Mari! The possibilities are endless. Don’t be such a drama queen. Let’s pick out some cute clothes for Monday instead. That would be fun!” Alya began to get up from the couch and raid Marinette’s closet. Now they were used to borrowing each other’s clothes without asking, so seeing her pick out some pants and shirts wasn’t out of the ordinary.

Marinette picked herself up, groaning. _“Fiiiiiiiine.”_ She said with a huff, hiding her excitement to pick out clothes. She always loved simple makeovers and pretending to model in her bedroom, so a little fashion show wouldn't hurt. She watched Alya pick out a couple outfits before trying them all for herself.

After two hours of trying on clothes and excessive snack breaks, Marinette decided on wearing a pink pinafore button dress with a white undershirt. It was casual, pretty, and fun to wear. Alya clapped her hands together in excitement, her smile so big her cheeks started to sting. It was the perfect dress to wear in order to gain a little bit of attention. Marinette matched her best friends happiness, spinning in the dress with an innocent smile.

“That one is perfect Mari!” Alya began to put the other clothes back in her closet, realizing their work was just about done. She dusted off her hands as she closed the closet, looking back at Marinette who was still unsure of herself.

“You think so?” She was blushing faintly, wondering if a certain boy might compliment her outfit tomorrow, a lovestruck look on her face. Alya already knew what she had been thinking about.

“Adrien will think so.” Alya said wickedly, a smirk appearing on her lips as she noticed Marinette’s blush begin to darken. Alya had already taken out their pajamas and shoved them into the bluenettes hands. “Here, go change. I’ll make some popcorn and you can pick the movie this time, just don’t choose Starstruck again.”

Laughing, she accepted the pajamas and nodded, brushing off Alya’s last comment. “I can’t help it! It’s a DCOM classic! And Christopher Wilde is _so dreamy~”_ She smiled, thinking about the romantic comedy. She began to unbutton her dress before continuing, “I mean who can resist a Disney Channel Original Movie?” A rhetorical question really, but Alya answered.

“Psychos.” Alya laughed, playing along with her best friends strong opinion. Both girls had changed into their pajamas and had begun to press play on Marinette’s computer, the big bowl of popcorn by its side.

* * *

The weekend went by swiftly, Marinette and Alya doing various activities; from making macarons to filling out quizzes in magazines to lounging on the chaise doing absolutely nothing. Either way, the two had plenty of fun and Marinette was ready for Adrien 2.0’s arrival. It was now Sunday night and Alya had gone home that morning, leaving Marinette alone in her bedroom to think.

“You seem anxious Marinette. Is everything okay?” Tikki had flown by, floating above her nose. Marinette had been sitting down, staring blank faced at nothing, her kwami growing concerned.

Marinette didn’t bother to make eye contact, still looking down at her rug. “Just a little nervous.” She mumbled in reply, sighing and putting her focus on another area of the room to stare at. She looked tired.

It was noticeable. “It’s almost 17:00 (5:00pm). Maybe you should cancel patrol for tonight?” As soon as Tikki suggested canceling, Marinette had brought herself back to reality, now looking back at Tikki, shaking her head.

“No no, that won’t be necessary. Besides, Chat is waiting for me anyway.” With that, Marinette sat up from her chair and stretched her arms above her head, stifling a yawn. She then uttered out her three magic words and her body was covered in an indestructible latex. Marinette looked back at herself in the mirror, staring at the mask that covered her face before climbing up onto her terrace balcony and swinging her yo-yo to their meet-up location.

* * *

As soon as she arrived onto the top of the building, she was met by a timid Chat Noir to her surprise. He sat by himself, a frown on his face, legs dangling off the edge of the roof. His ears were droopy.

Ladybug felt herself frown, what had happened to him? “Chat?” she called out wearily only for him to stand up quickly and offer her a forced smile and a sweet compliment. “Evening M’lady, you’re looking radiant this time of day.” His grin was tired.

Ignoring the compliment, she was curious to his dismay. “Is everything okay? You seem a bit… sad.” She watched his smile fade as a sigh escaped his lips. He put his hands in his pockets and shrugged, not entirely sure what to say. Ladybug had sat down next to where Chat had been sitting just moments before, the cat hero taking motive to sit back down next to her.

“Aw,” he cooed, “are you worried about me?” He stared at the cars below, aware that his partner was looking at him worriedly. The sun was beginning to set and the heroes had a sun-kissed golden look due to the sunlight.

“Yes.” An answer he hadn’t expected. He turned his head to look back at her, now seeing how concerned she had been. He felt bad for not saying something sooner. Ladybug looked at him with innocence, before speaking up. “If it’s something with your father again i’m really sorry Chat-”

“It’s not that.” He interrupted, waving a hand in dismissal. “Not this time at least.” He let out a chuckle but stopped shortly afterwards, seeing how Ladybug didn’t laugh. His night hadn’t gone exactly swell. Felix was like a carbon copy of his father, and when he arrived that Sunday morning, he felt a bit overshadowed.

Gabriel had gone as far as putting his hand out for him to shake. _Can you believe that?_ The last time Adrien even hugged his father was when his bodyguard turned into a gorilla. Months ago. It stung slightly, that small gesture of respect. But he paid no attention to it. Not until Felix had been throwing jabs at Adrien the whole afternoon.

*******************

_“Comic books?” He questioned, giving a death glare to the paperbacks._

_Adrien felt embarrassed, blushing awkwardly. “Mangas actually..”_

*******************

_“Really? You own High School Musical CD’s?” Felix held back a laugh, “Are you five?”_

_Adrien felt insulted, watching as Felix went around his room and point out all of his flaws. “Uhm, yeah. I liked the movies. If you don’t like those, though I have some Clairo CD’s that are nice. We could listen to those?”_

_“I’d rather sit in silence.”_

*******************

_Adrien was calm, sure a bit uncomfortable, but he could manage. A whole month, he wasn’t sure. But it was just this evening and he was sure things would get better. Everything is fine! Until it wasn’t._

_“What’s with the creepy shrine?” He scoffed, looking at the many pictures of Ladybug that hung on his wall._

_Adrien wanted to make an excuse to leave, but he was far too polite. “That’s Ladybug.” he said with a fond smile, “Paris’ hero.”_

_“Adrien,” Felix stared at one of the pictures, “Our family is full of tens. We are models, linguists, athletes, businessmen-”_

_“Your point?” He interrupted, bubbling with irritation._

_“We don’t chase after women who play dress up. We let women chase after us. Don’t swoop so low, it's embarrassing. Has your father taught you anything?”_

_He wanted to fight back, defend her. He didn’t even know half of anything! He didn’t know how he risked her life daily or how much she does to protect her friends and family. He didn’t know Ladybug like he did. He didn’t know anything._

_It wasn’t worth it. Fighting back wasn’t worth it. “I’m going to go take a shower.”_

* * *

“I’m _so_ sorry, Chat..” The heroine frowned, looking back at Chat who had an expression that said, ‘oh well’ he had left out that instance with the so called “shrine” not needing any more embarrassment from his crush. “I had no idea your cousin was like that.. If you ever need anything please just page me on our burner phones. I will drop anything just to make sure you’re okay.”

 _Ugh.._ He knew he would cling onto those words. He knew it would ring in the back of his mind and become engraved in his brain. He knew he would get addicted and overthink every little moment they’ve had as clues of her undying love for him.

“Your friendship means everything to me.”

And there it was. The words that made his chest burn and his eyes welled up in tears. He bit the inside of his cheek and tried his best to give a genuine smile. “Thank you, M’lady. And same to you.” How could she sit there and pretend that everything they had was platonic? How could she be so far in denial? How could she say the things she says and turn around to say it means nothing more? _How?_

Still. He would be thankful for everything she has done. He would be appreciative for her friendship and cling desperately to that title. It was better to be her friend than to be nothing at all.

He looked like he was thinking, of what? She wasn’t sure. Ladybug gave a sincere smile as he hunched his back, looking out to the cars below. He looked nice, even when he wasn’t feeling it. She had grown to adore his messy hair and the way he pouted his lower lip when in deep thought. He was so much more than what she had thought he’d been. He was insanely kind, funny, and understanding. He had troubles, some of which she could never even begin to understand, and yet he was still so compassionate. Not to mention talented, he was good at being a hero. And from what she knew, he was multilingual, in various sports, and very knowledgeable of fashion trends for whatever reason that may be. He was loyal. And he had her back. And she was sure she had never noticed how _gorgeous_ he looked-

She grabbed her yo-yo and opened the top. 21:00. “It’s getting late.” He hummed in agreement. The two looked at each other simultaneously and said their goodbyes, heading back into their homes.

* * *

“Fudge!” Marinette had shoved a piece of bread in her mouth as she waved her parents goodbye. Of course she had woken up late. She had fifteen minutes to get to school and it was an eight minute walk, but she also had to put her things in her locker which was way on the other side of the school and then back over to her classroom. Needless to say, she arrived six minutes late.

Awkwardly sitting down to her seat, she said hello to Alya who gave her a knowing smile. She was already given a few looks and smiles from her other friends, complimenting her dress in quiet whispers. She glanced in front of her, only seeing Nino. No Adrien. Huh, strange.

As if on cue, the blonde walked in and she felt herself melt, god he was so gorgeous it hurt her eyes. She pretended to be taking notes to appear busy as she felt everyone’s heads turn. _Don’t stare._ She told herself. She had been doing a great job of minding her business until she felt a pair of eyes boring into her skull. Looking up, she noticed who had been staring. His cousin had been _smiling at her_. Why? She smiled faintly back, looking over to Alya to stop herself from her lingering eyes.

Alya raised a brow, noticing how the other boy was staring. Nino had noticed too, looking over to Adrien, who had been oblivious to the lingering look.

“Do I get to pick my seat, Ms Bustier?” His cousin asked, Adrien already sitting down slightly peeved. Sheesh. Not even a hello, no friendly introduction. His friends were going to hate him. Good thing they knew. He looked over at Alya who was smiling, then to Nino and Adrien was left confused. Turning his head he noticed Marinette. _Crap! I forgot to tell her!_ A look of panic waved over his face.

“You can if you’d like, Felix. Would you like to give an introduction to the class?” The teacher offered, smiling kindly.

He shook his head, eyes focused on the pale girl in the pink dress. “I’d prefer not.” He said sharply, walking over to Alya. She was confused as he set his bag on her table. “I choose this seat. _Move.”_


	2. But Princes Look for Princesses You Know?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felix gets friendly with Marinette and Adrien makes a grave mistake. Alya has no trouble standing up for her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I published the first chapter less than 24 hours ago but I just love writing this so here's chapter 2! Enjoy!

Marinette looked up in a panic, noticing Alya’s shock and disbelief.

She didn’t hesitate to lower her brows and give a disapproving frown.. “Excuse me?” She said harshly, standing up to be eye-level with the new student. “I don’t know who you think you are, but that sense of entitlement will _NOT_ pass with me. I don’t care who you are or who you’re related to if you even _THINK_ about behaving like that around me, _OR_ my friends, it will be hands on sight and you better believe that I will whoop your scrawny-”

“Alya that’s enough!” Marinette whispered loudly, cowering under her backpack. “It’s Felix’s first day and I’m sure he didn’t know any better..” Alya sighed, crossing her arms and looking to Marinette. The poor girl would do anything to not draw attention to herself.

Noticing Marinette’s silent pleads, Alya huffed before turning back to Felix. “Adrien may have told us to play nice, but I have no trouble breaking a rule or two. Watch your back.” She reluctantly moved aside, grabbing her things to sit in the back with Nathaniel. He had been alone due to Marc being absent for the day. God he sure was missing out. She watched as Marinette panicked, setting her pens and pencils neatly to her side to make sure she wouldn’t be imposing on Felix’s stay.

Glancing over, he smiled, “Nice notes.”

Marinette tried to compose herself, but ended up dropping her pens all over their shared table. Nervously, she scrambled to pick them up, not noticing how he had began to help before his hand was touching hers in an attempt to help pick up her pens. She opened her mouth to speak but he had beaten her to it, his smile not fading.

“I’m Felix.” He said happily, propping his chin up by his hand, elbow on the table. “Adrien hadn’t mentioned you..”

_Ouch._

“I don’t see how though.. You’re stunning.” He was satisfied as he began to see her cheeks flush pink, unable to utter a sentence.

She successfully put all of her pens back in their place and smiled faintly, “Oh, uh.. Thank you.” She wouldn’t lie, the attention felt nice. She didn’t really get hit on much as her civilian self. Other than that, it was really only Luka who had made an advance on her, but even then it was subtle. It was fun, seeing someone bold and confident throw a compliment her way.

On the other hand, Adrien felt.. Uncomfortable. Why would Felix be so eager to sit next to Marinette? Why did he introduce himself to her and her only? Why did he go as far to compliment her appearance like that? That just wasn’t him! Adrien had never seen his cousin behave so flirtatiously and it was something he wouldn’t mind never seeing again. But it wasn’t just his behavior that was bothering him.. The most troubling thing was why Marinette _wasn’t_ hating it. He felt himself become uneasy, shifting from his chair constantly and biting his pen.

Nino, looking over to the slobbery bitten ballpoint, cringed. He placed his hand on Adrien’s shoulder and raised a brow. “You okay dude?” From the corner of his eye he could see his girlfriend shooting gaggers at Felix, eyes glued to the front desks.

Was he okay? He didn’t even know how to answer a simple question. He looked over to see Marinette smile, laughing quietly while trying to take notes. Looking over at how smug Felix looked as he snuck in little compliments towards his good friend. His friend! _Not Felix’s girlfriend!_ He was only going to be here for a month! _Why does he even care?_ He took a deep breath, he needed to calm down. Still not understanding why he was upset in the first place. “Yeah, yeah. I’m fine.” He finally answered, still unsure of himself. Nino picked up on his uncertainty and dropped it.

“So..” Marinette mumbled, still looking down at her notes. “Felix. That’s a nice name.” She said quietly to herself. He heard.

“Oh you like it?” He questioned innocently, looking over at her before whispering, “then you should definitely hear my phone number.”

Giggling. He heard her giggling and Adrien wanted to dig his grave right then and there. Funny when Chat Noir tells her a joke she just rolls her eyes and smiles. But for Felix she lets out a full on giggle? _What made him so funny?_ He wanted to break his pencil right then and there.

His childhood friend noticed his frustration, but was confused as to why. “I didn’t think you were so protective of Felix.” She hummed, fluffing her ponytail.

 _Protective?_ “What makes you think that?” He answered back, barely paying attention to Mrs Bustiers lesson.

“Look at you!” Chloe answered back with a chuckle, “You’re fuming. Only the best for the Agreste’s though, right? I’m shocked Marinette’s his type to be honest. She doesn’t exceed my wow factor, that’s for sure.”

Chloe’s got it all wrong! He didn’t care about who Felix dated! That’s not why he was upset! “No, that’s not why I’m-”

“Then why are you upset Adrien?” Sabrina chimed in, she could see right through him. But to be fair, it was obvious.

He couldn’t answer her question. He wasn’t sure for himself. He unclenched his fist and released his scrunched nose, “Because I don’t want my friend to fall for Felix! He’s a total nightmare!” He huffed, crossing his arms.

They dropped it, but the ginger was fully aware of what had been going on. Chloe, a little dense. Alya wished she hadn’t been all the way in the back, but the conversations there were just as juicy.

“Do you think Marinette likes Felix?” Juleka asked, eyes fixated on the two.

Alya shrugged, unsure. “I don’t know.. But Adrien is clearly not happy. I wonder why?” She said already speculating.

As the lunch bell rang throughout the room Marinette had began to pack her things and look back to Alya questioning if they wanted to make lunch plans. Instead, she was greeted by Felix.

He handed the pale girl her bag and smiled just like Adrien did. “Say Marinette... I’m still a bit new to Paris. I was wondering if you could show me around to a nice cafe for lunch?” He was confident. That was for sure.

The female felt herself blush, “Like- like a _date?”_ she felt herself stutter. Why would she ask that? She scolded herself, knowing she overstepped boundaries with the bad-boy new kid.

“I was hoping.” He said with a blush of his own to her surprise. Before Marinette could answer she was interrupted by a loud voice who stood by his own desk in front of them.

“GOSH! I sure am hungry too Felix! It’s such a shame that Nathalie has to pick BOTH of us up right now!” Adrien stood tall, bag slumped over his shoulder. Something about his behavior seemed slightly… off. He felt his face grow red with embarrassment. He was behaving so foolish. The blonde held a straight face.

Felix noticed his attack and was quick to combat it. Thinking on his feet, he took a breath and responded. “Actually, I told her to pick me up after three. So I'm good to go.” His smirk was infuriating. Felix knew he was winning.

Marinette hadn’t noticed the tension in the room, instead focused on what Adrien had said earlier. “Oh- well, if Adrien is hungry maybe he should come with us?” She proposed much to Felix's dismay.

Adrien, seeing an opening, barged in, now standing right beside Felix with a sly smirk of his own. “Oh really?” he said pretending to have different intentions than to ruin their date. “Oh that’s just great! Thanks Mari!”

Marinette raised a brow, shocked at the obrievation of her name. Internally, she was freaking out! She had no clue as to why he was behaving so friendly with her. She spoke hesitantly, “You’ve never called me that before, Adrien. You okay? Are you feeling light headed?”

Laughter emerged from her left. She turned over to Felix who had been finishing his dry chuckle. “Oh he’s fine, _Mari,_ he’s just impeccable at being a human disaster.”

“That’s not true.” Adrien mumbled softly, daggers being thrown at his cousin. He knew for sure the two would be arguing as soon as they got home. This lunch was going to be an absolute trainwreck.

Marinette let herself think before speaking up, “I don’t think I can even remember a time where Adrien embarrassed himself. Except for that one time in chemistry where you started making all those science puns..” She laughed, a faint reminder of her feline partner. She wondered what he had been doing at the moment. “That was certainly something I didn’t expect from you.”

“Why not?” He asked innocently, curious for an answer.

He looked offended, or- insecure. It was something she wasn’t used to. So she freaked out. “Oh- well- it’s not bad! I just thought it was interesting. You’re usually really quiet in class.” She said hoping it wasn’t offensive. She let out a sigh of relief when Adrien smiled warmly at her, saying that made sense.

* * *

When they arrived at the cafe of Marinette’s choice, the three sat down at one of the outside tables, Felix and Adrien attempting to sit next to Marinette. So she wound up in the middle. But she did have to be honest with herself, the whole situation was really suspicious. Adrien rarely went out for lunch with anyone, especially her. I mean sure, they were good friends, but he usually only stuck to Nino like glue and didn’t mind if anyone else tagged along. So when Adrien offered to take her to lunch along with his cousin with all expenses paid, well, she gladly took the opportunity.

She had been absentmindedly scanned the menu, smiling contently as she looked at her usual, crêpes aux fraises. Preparing herself to order she was snapped out of her trace when she heard Felix’s voice.

“Tell me, Marinette. How many hearts have you broken with that sweet smile of yours?” He asked smoothly, a hand on his chin as he grinned endearingly.

Marinette felt her face grow red as she looked down, flustered. Her smile grew kinder as she let out a giggle, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. “Felix!” She said with a laugh, playfully hitting his arm. She had completely forgotten to give any focus to her right where Adrien had been fuming.

“Isn’t that a line from some romance movie?” Adrien chimed in, “Have some originality Felix.” He hadn’t been aware of how grumpy his tone had been until Marinette looked at him puzzled.

Felix, sighing with annoyance answered, spinning the question back to Adrien. “Don’t all women want their lives to be a romance film? I think Marinette deserves a Disney prince and nothing less. Or- do you disagree?” He cocked his head to the side, his grin now turning wicked.

Adrien stared back at him wide eyed. If he said yes, he knew Felix would be winning whatever battle had started between the two of them. But if he were to argue back, he would be treating his good friend poorly. It was a lose-lose situation. So what came out of his mouth was something he’d regret as soon as it came out of his mouth. “I disagree! I mean- Marinette deserves a good guy, sure- but princes look for princesses you know and Marinette works at a parents bakery for christ’s sake.” He had hoped he was just listing reasons why Felix should just back the **fuck off** his friend but soon realized that it only fueled him to keep going.

Marinette felt her heart stop. Her crush of three years now had commented on her wealth status, something she swore didn’t matter to him. Here, his cousin was, sweet-talking her and behaving like a kind boy in her eyes and she believed for a split second that Adrien Agreste meant nothing to her. She cleared her throat, unable to look at her friend. “I didn’t know wealth meant that much to you, Adrien.” She said calmly, looking down at her menu.

“Marinette- that’s not what I-”

“It’s fine.” She interrupted with a forced smile.

Felix saw this as a good moment to make himself look good. “Cinderella was a cleaning maid, Aurora lived in a shack in the forest, Snow white lived in a cottage with seven men. It’s what’s in your heart that matters when your true personality shines through. And I believe we just saw yours.”

Damn. He was good at making Adrien look like a villain. He fell silent and wouldn’t make any eye contact with the two as he heard Marinette speak.

“I agree with Felix. Sure they’re just movies but it shows that if you’re a kind person, you will find someone who truly cares about you. Not your wealth, or social status. I think that’s something we could all strive for. I guess your family taught you _otherwise_.” Her last sentence sharp and bitter left an ashamed aftertaste in Adrien’s mouth.

As Marinette ordered her food, Felix leaned in and pointed at a menu item, “Hey Marinette, how do you pronounce this one?” He questioned innocently. Adrien wanted to yell, _you're fluent in french what does it matter?!_ But he knew it would only cause more of a scene.

At this point, it wasn’t about whether Felix had something to tease Adrien for. As he closed his eyes he couldn’t get the image of how hurt Marinette looked as the words came out of his mouth. Nothing could compare to the way she smiled or how she tried to hide her laughter. Seeing her look like that because of him made his stomach churn. It was like a personal punch to his stomach. He guessed he really cared about his friends.

He tuned out most of their conversation, too focused on what was going on in his head. He just felt morally confused. He had lost touch of what he had been fighting for and was left feeling empty. Perhaps a talk with his kwami or a friend would help, but neither option was available as he had trapped himself into having lunch with the two.

The walk back was awkward, if not, worse. Felix had offered to hold Marinette’s bags and even tried to hold her hand. Thank god she was too busy talking about her afternoon classes than to notice. Adrien had become silent but tried to mouth apologies to Marinette when she turned his way. Of course, she insisted that it really was no problem. But anyone could tell she was lying. Even Adrien.

For the rest of his day, he noticed that Marinette had offered to help introduce him to his classes and despite Alya still being skeptical, she was kind. Especially after Marinette told her what happened that afternoon. Marinette swore she was alright but it wouldn’t slide with Alya.

“You got _some nerve_ Adrien Agreste!” She shouted, pointing her index finger down onto his chest. He had just finished his classes for the day and had fifteen minutes before Nathalie was scheduled to pick him up.

Knowing he deserved this, he sighed. “I’m really sorry-”

“A million sorry's won't forgive what you said to her! She’s too kind enough to admit how much that really hurt her. She knows she’s not a famous, rich, teen model like you are but her amazing personality makes up for it. You should know that.”

He put his head down and frowned. “I do know that. Marinette is probably the kindest person I have ever met and I took that for granted.”

Alya sighed, pushing up her glasses. “I forgive you, Adrien. Only because I know you just said it out of jealousy-”

“Jealousy?” He repeated back, confused. God he was dense.

With another sigh Alya just shook her head. “You’ll figure it out soon enough, Adrien. But we’ve all figured it out by now.” With that she left, claiming that she signed Nino and her up for a pottery class at 3:30, wanting to have fun and test out their artistic skills.

As Adrien walked out to his limo he noticed Felix wave goodbye to Marinette before saying he would text her. _They’ve known each other for a day and they text now?_ He wanted to roll his eyes but instead got into the car, Felix following soon after.

The car ride was dead silent, and after about twenty minutes, both boys were in Adrien’s room putting their things down. Felix was going to be here for a full month and has only been there for a day and a half. He knew he wouldn’t be able to put up with him and had to put his foot down.

“We need to talk, _Felix_.”


	3. Dance with Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien confronts Felix, Chat Noir talks to Marinette while figuring out what exactly she means to him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry it's been a month since i've updated! life has been getting in the way of so many things for me right now but I promise I will upload more frequently.

_“We need to talk, Felix…”_

Felix held his content front, placing a hand on his hip and raising his brow as if he was daring Adrien to question his motives. “Whatever for, Adrien?” he asked nonchalantly, running a hand through his hair.

If the model wasn’t fuming already, he was past furious. He stepped closer, ready to have a full on scream argument. “What’s your deal with Marinette?” His tone dripped with anger. Adrien couldn’t believe his cousin would behave so annoyingly and then pretend it didn’t even happen!

His cousin smiled, barely paying attention to Adrien. He had sat down on the gray couch in front of their tv and had began absentmindedly channel surfing. “You’re going to have to be more specific.” He answered loosely, not caring about Adrien’s uptight behavior.

Adrien lowered his brows and shot a glare towards Felix, now sitting down adjacent to him on the couch. “What are you doing? You're mean to all my friends but you're flirting with Marinette constantly?” His cousin looked so composed and collected it made him want to cataclysm his stupid face.

Felix wore a smug smile. “And why does it matter to you? You said it yourself. You're _friends_.”

He was right. Adrien really was searching for an excuse to be upset. Instead, he crossed his arms and groaned. “You’re really campaigning for Asshole of the Year, aren’t you?”

“As the defending champion, are you worried?”

Adrien was ready to throw punches at this point. And god, he was tempted from the way Felix’s thin lips went upright into a sly grin. How dare he think he can take his friends away from him and ruin what he’s tried so hard to create here in Paris.

He knew he should shut up, drop it, do anything but keep it going, but god dammit Felix pissed him off. So of course, he mumbled something under his breath. “Shithead.”

And of course, Felix had grade A hearing. Grabbing the remote he turned the tv off and scooted towards Adrien. “Watch your mouth, Adrien. I don’t think your father would be pleased to hear about the words your friends taught you.”

“They didn’t teach me anything.”

“Maybe not, but I can easily tell your father your behavior is.. Unsatisfactory due to your school friends. With a second opinion, he’d be more than happy to pull you out.” His smile was cunning and vicious. He had thought of a plan for everything. Adrien was sure Felix only came to Paris to ruin his life.

Adrien balled his hands into fists, questions running through his mind. What the hell was Felix planning? Why did he want to date his friend? And why would he threaten his own cousin so cold heartedly?

He knew if he asked he would get zero answers in return, so he plopped himself onto the bed. Opening the little drawer by his side, he sneakily placed a cheese wheel into the drawer. Seeing his kwami quietly munch away, he closed the compartment and grabbed a magazine.

He had bought it this morning from a small kiosk after seeing the words “Exclusive interview with Ladybug: Who does she think is Paris’ cutest hero?” sure, it was a little dumb and tacky, but he was dying to know her opinion. But before he could open the juicy magazine, Nathalie had knocked on the door.

“Boys? Dinner has been prepared downstairs. Your father will be joining us.”

 _Of course!_ Of course his father hasn’t bothered to eat with Adrien in weeks but when Felix comes to visit he makes it his life mission to have dinner with him every night of his stay. Was his father really capable of change? The thought made his eyes water. If his father was capable of change does that mean that Adrien wasn’t worth changing for?

He shut his eyes tight and let out a sigh, getting up from his bed and opening the door, Felix following in pursuit. Adrien smoothed out his shirt, causing Felix to position his tie. He had the nerve to always one up his cousin. He was absolutely insufferable.

As the two made their way down the stairs they quietly entered the dining hall and sat down where they were greeted with two full plates of Croque Monsieur with a side dish of French Onion Soup. Adrien felt his stomach make a noise, realizing he never ate his lunch after being too embarrassed by what he told Marinette. Felix shook his head promptly, but Adrien chose to ignore it.

Both boys went silent when they watched Gabriel walk down the stairway and sit down in front of them whilst being served. He cleared his throat and gestured to his son. “Couldn’t you have worn something more formal? You look like a street kid. We have guests. You should know better than to embarrass me.” His last comment was practically spat out with disgust, the image of his son’s friend “Nino” coming to mind.

Adrien lowered his head and uttered an apology, feeling his cousin smirk from beside him. He would succeed in taking all of his friends and now even his own father? The idea of everything falling apart made him take in a deep breath, picking up his fork and knife after seeing his father do so.

The dinner was quiet. Or at least Adrien forced himself not to hear. It was mainly a discussion on how Felix was liking his stay and Adrien really had no interest in the topic. He ate his food quietly while coming up with plans in his head. He could tell the truth to everyone about Felix, but he hadn’t necessarily done anything wrong besides pick on him. Felix was good at manipulation and making Adrien look like a fool. So he crossed that from his head.

After millions of useless ideas, he decided he needed to take a different approach. He was sure he needed to convince everyone that Felix was a bad guy. But in reality, he just needed one person to know. Marinette Dupain-Cheng. People trust her, if she explains to her friends why she doesn’t like Felix they’ll all hop on the bandwagon. Then, with complaints at school they’d have to call home and soon Gabriel will know what a jerk Felix truly is. The plan was foolproof.

As they all finished dinner, Adrien quietly excused himself to go upstairs. Felix being suspicious, followed.

“What are you doing?” The cousin questioned, raising a brow.

Adrien, who had been taking his pillows and a blanket replied, “Moving to the guest bedroom. I don’t want to share a room with you.”

Removing his vest and tie, he huffed. “Fine. See if I care.” With his back turned Plagg was easily able to fly out from his drawer and into the guest bedroom where Adrien followed. Finally, some alone time.

“Fresh air! I can _breathe!_ Also, your cousin’s a real drag.” The kwami complained, yawning and stretching his arms(?).

Adrien placed the pillows and blanket down making it look like a body in the bed so he could sneak out. “I know. But we gotta go talk to Marinette okay?” With Plagg’s nod, Adrien said his magic words and transformed into his alter being, slipping out from an open window.

Hopping from roof to roof he finally landed upon her balcony where he stood alone. He figured she was either having dinner with her parents or in her room, so he tapped on the glass aggressively. There he sat on her fence anticipating her arrival, hoping to convince her to stay away from Felix.

Marinette, who had been confiding in Tikki, groaned while her kwami hid in one of her boxes. She immediately knew who had been tapping, so while opening her trap door, she crawled up to her balcony, glaring at her partner. “....Yes?” she said impatiently, crossing her arms. It had been a while since he had come to visit and in all honesty, she missed him. She wasn’t going to tell him that though.

God he missed her snarky attitude. “I wanted to talk to you.”

The expression on her face turned soft. “Oh. Well come inside, it’s cold.” She lowered herself back down to her room before staring at what was now an empty pinboard which used to be filled with pictures of Adrien. She had taken them down three months prior. It had been two years since she met Adrien and her crush was going nowhere, so she decided to take them down.

She sat on the chaise while Chat Noir sat in front of her on the floor cross-legged. Her hair had been out of their ties and onto her shoulders. She had been wearing her cat noir pajamas, just now realizing her mistake. She covered herself with her arms before looking away from Chat Noir as he cleared his throat. Breaking the silence, a flustered Marinette spoke. “They’re _comfortable,_ okay! Just- tell me what you wanted to talk about.”

Chat Noir found himself blushing at Marinette’s clothes. Most of his friends were obsessed with Ladybug and he was sure Marinette would be too. But he always found her sticking up for his alter ego and coming quick to praise him to her friends after an akuma attack. It was something he had grown fond of, seeing Marinette as his fan. Especially tonight as she had a natural face and as her hair delicately laid on her shoulders as if she was the most precious cargo. To him, she was. He knew this conversation would turn a little bitter, and he wanted to make the sweet lingering looks last. “Can it wait?” he asked her, getting up from the floor to sit next to her. “Tell me how your day was.”

More of a command than a question, Marinette felt her cheeks flush pink. The proximity between the two of them made her feel warm, his body heat radiating through his suit. She could do nothing but stare into his green eyes. They were so.. So green. She often wondered if that was his true eye color but felt silly asking. “It was.. Okay.” she said with a shrug. She wasn’t ready to talk about everything just yet. Chat Noir knew that too from the way she was quiet and looking at the floor.

His ears perked up when he heard her radio. He recognised the song immediately and smiled.

_Oh heavenly day_

“Dance with me.” He held out his hand.

“What?”

_All the clouds blew away_

Before Marinette knew, she took his hand and they both stood in the empty space of her room. Marinette noticed her kwami behind Chat Noir and looked up at her with big eyes before realizing tikki turned up the volume on her radio before flying back to her hiding spot without Chat Noir noticing.

_Got no trouble today with anyone_

She let him wrap his arms around her waist while she snaked her arms up to her neck. Her head resting on his shoulder, the two began to slow dance quietly in her flat, only hearing the music and their quiet sighs.

_The smile on your face, I live only to see_

“I’ve missed you.” He said in a low whisper and for once Marinette didn’t hesitate to reply back.

“I’ve missed you too.”

_It's enough for me, baby, it's enough for me_

For once her mind was quiet. She didn’t know where she stood with Chat Noir but she knew that she enjoyed it. She would never force him to stay or act on their tension but when they fell into place she knew there was no other place she’d rather be. She would just let things happen.

_Oh, heavenly day, heavenly day, heavenly day_

He could only breathe in her scent and pull her closer by the small of her back. In moments like this, every woman disappears from his mind and there’s only one remaining constant. Marinette. Because in the end, there’s no one he’s closer to. No one he enjoys talking to, playing with, and hanging out with. No one like Marinette. No one ever compared to her.

_No one at my shoulder bringing me fears_

There was a year and a half where he was absolutely positive he was in love with Ladybug. But as he kept getting rejected, he believed what Kagami had told him. He believed he needed to change his target. And that maybe his deep infatuation of her, placed her on a pedestal that was too high to reach. And for a while, he decided not to aim for anyone at all and just focus on himself. And Ladybug seemed comfortable with that. Comfortable with their friendship. Although sometimes he longed for more, his crush on her definitely decreased. but was still there, faintly.

_Got no clouds up above me bringing me tears_

But watching himself grow jealous, envious of Felix and what he had with Marinette. Watching as perfect moments like these fall into place. Watching himself realize there’s no other place he wanted to be at that moment.

“I love hanging out with you, Marinette. I hope you know that.”

“Ditto.” She hummed in reply, her lips too close to his neck.

_Got nothing to tell you, I've got nothing much to say_

So much goes unspoken, so much holds them back. Marinette remembers the cousins that once held her back and for a moment she isn’t smiling. Until Chat whispers to her. “I care about you. So much.”

_Only I'm glad to be here with you_

His words are wonderful, and they mean so much. But the timing.. It’s off. It seems off to her. The perfect situation seems too perfect and now she’s placing her hands on his shoulders to gain more distance with Chat.

“Which is why I want to keep you safe, Mari.”

_On this heavenly, heavenly, heavenly, heavenly day_

Now her eyebrow is raised, questioning if she’s in danger. “From what?” she asked, completely pulling away.

Nothing last’s forever. And just like that, the moment is gone. Chat felt himself go timid as he stroked the back of his neck with his palm. “I mean it's Felix Agreste! He’s a part time designer and model. He knows so many famous people his age. Don't you think it’s weird that he transfers here for a month and wants to date _you_?”

Marinette felt confused. Angry. But most of all hurt. What was with everyone commenting on how she isn’t rich? She lowered her eyebrows at Chat, “You don’t think I’m good enough for him, do you?” she asked, tears forming in her eyes.

Chat Noir realized his mistake and shook his head, arms up in defense. “That’s not what I meant Marinette I’m just saying-”

“No. I know what you're saying. It’s _SO_ weird that someone with wealth and fame would want to date a nobody clumsy girl like _me_ right? Because famous people like Felix don’t date _losers_ like me right?” She got closer and approached him with anger until they were almost at her trap door. “Well I don’t know how you got my information but it's none of your business! Why is it so weird to think that someone likes me for me!”

“That’s not what I’m saying Mari-”

“Don’t! We are _NOT_ on a nickname basis anymore” She shouted, not realizing tears had been down her cheeks. “I don’t want you to lie to me just like my friend did today. Just go, okay? Don’t pretend to be my friend.”

Chat Noir felt his heart break at her words, seeing her cry in front of him like that. He hadn’t meant for the conversation to go so bitterly. He needed to be better at saying things. He needed to make it up to her. “Marinette-”

“ _Just GO!_ ” her voice was sharp and clear, enough to cut through Chat Noir’s suit. She watched him leave with a sorry look in his eyes while she couldn’t bare to speak another word.


	4. How Stupid Do You Have to be to Keep Talking?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya asks for Nino's input, the class discusses Ladybug and Adrien has had enough. Ladybug seeks for Adrien's advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a week! And I have updated :) I hope you guys like it! Only one chapter left! I'm excited to wrap everything up !!

It had been two weeks since Marinette last spoke to Chat Noir. It had been two weeks since Adrien spoke to Marinette. The two shared occasional glances and very short “hello’s” but both never sought out to carry a conversation with the other.

It had been two weeks. Half of Felix’s stay had already passed. And throughout those two weeks, he had been stuck to Marinette’s side like glue. He was constantly giving her compliments, pick-up-lines, and boosting her self esteem while everyone just had to watch. 

Alya wanted to be supportive of whatever they were, but seeing how distraught Adrien was made her suspicious. The rest of the class seemed quite comfortable with referring to Felix as “Mari’s boy toy” but for Adrien, the white knight, disliking his own cousin? It made her detective tendencies spark. She decided to start by seeing if she wasn’t crazy.

Currently, she had been eating lunch with her boyfriend, since Marinette was off with Felix. Setting down her sandwich, she leaned into Nino.

“What are you doing?” She asked when he too, leaned in and additionally closed his eyes.

Opening them, he blushed. “Were we.. not gonna kiss just now?”

She laughed and playfully shoved his shoulder. “No! I mean- _later_. I wanted to ask you something.”

He let out a laugh and sipped his cola, “okay, shoot.”

“Do you think there’s something.. Off about Felix?”

“Haven’t really thought about it.”

Alya pouted and crossed her arms. Her second opinion wasn’t exactly helping. She hoped she could at least convince him to see another opinion. “I mean, think about it. I’ve never seen Adrien so _moody_.” She raised a brow and looked up at Nino who was pondering over her comment. “Usually it’s because his father won’t let him hang out with us after school but... Even then he’s still kind to everyone around him. Felix shows up and now he’s been nothing but quiet and broody these past two weeks and he even said something pretty hurtful to Mari out of frustration. Don’t you think that’s weird?” 

Nino was quick to his defense. “I’m sure he didn’t mean it-”

“I know he didn’t.” She chimed back, then taking another bite of her sandwich. “I just think something is going on... I wanna find out what it is..” 

* * *

“Canceled? Again? Okay. bye.” Adrien hung up the phone with Nathalie on the other end. He had been in a bathroom stall, his kwami needing a stretch. “The photographer canceled the shoot again.” He let out a hopeless sigh. 

“Probably because you haven’t gotten a proper night's rest for two weeks. Your dark circles are getting dark circles!” Plagg let out a chuckle to Adrien’s dismay. “But..” Plagg scrunched up his face, knowing he was going to get uncomfortable with his next words. “But I know you’ll get through it. Two more weeks, Adrien.” 

The blonde, shocked at his words of comfort, showed a genuine smile although it was tired. Pretending to wipe tears from his eyes he playfully spoke, “Oh Plagg! Your kind words of affection have moved me in such a way! You _melt_ me!”

“Shut up, nerd.”

He erupted with a burst of short, temporary laughter. “Love you too.”

He soon put Plagg back in his pocket and headed out the door. Minding his business at his own locker, he was then interrogated by the school’s power couple.

“So tell us, what’s going on Adrien?” She spoke confidently next to him.

Startled, he turned around to see his good friends. Although they seemed skeptical. 

“We’re concerned about you.”

Panic faded from his face. He looked at both Alya and Nino and then to the floor. How was he supposed to tell them? “It’s complicated,” he mumbled out. “But I swear I didn’t mean to hurt Marinette-”

“You sure?” That voice made Adrien want to curl his hands into fists. How Felix had managed to be at the right place at the right time was a mystery. But for once, he wasn’t next to Marinette. “I’m no expert but I don’t think friends talk about how poor the other one is.” 

Nino and Alya both frowned. Adrien looked down at his feet. “I just want you to back off of her.” He stood tall and closed his locker. 

“Why?” Alya chimed in, hands on her hips and confused. She thought maybe, just maybe this was an insane pool of jealousy and the love triangle that could finally get Adrien to realize he has a crush on Marinette.

His head was a pool of obsessive thoughts and they began to swirl so loud that he began to get a migraine. With his bookbag, he calmly made his way past everyone. “Class starts in five minutes, I- I don't want to be late.”

* * *

Marinette felt her eyes burn as she awoke to the loud ongoing beeping from her alarm. Turning it off, she was about to roll on her other side to fall back asleep before seeing her notification. _“Felix: Good morning gorgeous ;)”_ She sighed and sat up, placing the phone down to her side. Everything was beginning to be too much for her. With Felix becoming interested in her to Adrien and Chat Noir weirdly defensive about it. Why should it matter who she dates? It's her decision! 

Although, it was starting to get to her head. She began to question her wealth more and the clothes she would wear to school. She looked nothing but ordinary. She was okay with having an unmemorable face, that way it was easy to keep her identity a secret. After letting go of middle school crushes and focusing on herself she had grown to love herself for who she is and what she’s accomplished but years of building her self esteem began to crumble after Felix’s arrival. 

Was she enough? Could she make him happy? Did she even like this? His attention is sweet but everything seemed to happen so fast. “Do you think what he and I have is _real_ , Tikki?” She asked, still in bed. 

Her kwami let out a quiet sigh, unsure of how to answer. “You can never be sure Marinette. But you should always believe your intuition. If something feels off, I think you should trust your gut. No one knows the situation as best as you do.” 

* * *

Late again, she quickly walked in and set her things down next to Felix. “Hey, sorry I’m late. What did I miss?” 

Felix smiled, “Not much. We were going to have a Socratic seminar on Whether or not Ladybug and Chat Noir should be given the same title as Law Enforcers.” 

Marinette shrugged. She knew how much each of her classmates respected both Ladybug and Chat Noir considering that all of them have been saved from them at least twice. There was no reason for any political feud so she figured this would be a breeze.

Alya, of course, was quick to start. Standing up, she smiled. “I can safely say I speak for _us all_ when I say that our heroes should be given the utmost respect and title of peacekeepers. They’ve saved me, and most of us in this room countless times.” 

Rose stood up next. “I agree! Ladybug and Chat Noir saved me when I was akumatized and Paris feels so much safer with them around.”

Marinette smiled to herself, but the thought of her partner made it fade. What he said two weeks ago... She hadn’t expected Chat Noir to respond so negatively to that news. And where he got it from was still a mystery. She knows what he said was rude... But part of her feels like her response was maybe a bit too much. Maybe he was trying to look out for her.. They’ve been such good friends for so long. She always felt like she could tell him anything (aside from her identity). She wished he would visit her. Maybe they could both apologize. 

“I miss Chat Noir.” Then she realized everyone was staring. Curse her mouth! She hadn’t meant to say that aloud. Mrs. Bustier told her to wait her turn until Ivan was finished but god she felt so embarrassed! And to make things worse Adrien wouldn’t stop staring at her...

Finally, Ivan was finished which meant she should stand up. “Uhm.” She looked around at everyone staring at her and made eye contact with Adrien that lasted too long. Green. His eyes were so green. “I just mean that... That-uh- I haven’t really seen any uh. I haven’t seen anything on the news lately of Chat Noir. And Ladybug! Of course. Her too. I think they should be considered as peacemakers I think. If Hawkmoth is here for whatever reason and is bringing bad upon Paris. I think Chat Noir and Ladybug are the balance to that. Plus their powers really make things fair game I think.” she quickly sat down and averted eye contact with a certain blondie who hadn’t been speaking to her. 

She thought that would be the end of all of the embarrassment. But it was only just beginning. What she hadn’t expected to happen, did. Felix stood up and was ready to give everyone his two cents. 

“ _Actually_ , I disagree. I disagree with all of you.” Everyone’s faces morphed into a fusion of both shock and surprise, but Adrien wasn’t amused. “In no way should some _lousy_ teenagers be given an honorable title like policemen. They started saving the day like what? Three, maybe four years ago? How do we even know they’re properly trained?”

And soon. He was beginning to get on everyone’s nerves. “By the fact that they haven’t _died_ yet,” Chloe said with her eyes rolling. 

_How inconsiderate..._ Marinette felt herself growing uncomfortable.

“Fair, but that’s only due to their fun powers.” He said with his own eyes rolling back at Chloe. “If you were told you could be adored by everyone and look cool while doing it, I assume more than _half_ of you would join.” Felix crossed his arms and wasn’t open to criticism. 

“They risk their lives _every day!”_ Nathaniel said in the back. Marc put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. 

_How vile…_ for someone to say something so careless. Marinette put her head on her desk in hopes to feel small.

“Sure they do. Because fighting off someone who blows bubbles and someone who controls wifi connections is _so_ hard.” Felix’s smirk traveled towards Nino and Alya who were the farthest thing from smiling. “And Ladybug? She’s just a teenager who wants fame and adoration. She wants to be a hero and look cute doing it.”

Hearing him hate her alter ego felt crushing. No one ever is going to like all of her.. huh? She knew she’d be a crybaby if she were to pour her feelings out but how could she sit there and let him speak like that?

But of course, Felix wasn’t done. “And Chat Noir? At least he cares a little about the citizens but even so he will risk everything just to get on Ladybug’s good side. I mean what a people-pleaser. Even so, he’s useless. All he does is throw himself in the way to buy Ladybug a few seconds. He’s replaceable. You could swap him for anyone and they’d do a better job. Hell, even my cousin, as dull as he is could be a better Chat Noir!” With everyone looking at Adrien, he felt the need to speak up. 

But as he stood up and opened his mouth, he was interrupted.

“How _stupid_ do you have to be to keep talking?” The harshness of her tone caused everyone to look at her in shock, especially Felix. “You just got here two weeks ago and you are running your mouth like you witnessed each attack with your own two eyes. They do risk their lives every day. They’re teenagers who have taken the risk and burden of knowing that the fate of Paris lies in their hands. You just can’t fathom that since your biggest responsibility is picking out which tie to wear.” Shockingly, Juleka laughed at the comment, causing the other students to whisper childish “ _ohhh’s_ ”. Marinette felt like she had achieved something, but knew she wasn’t finished proving her point. “I don’t know Ladybug personally, so I can’t say you’re wrong, but Chat Noir is nothing but earnest, kind, and supportive. We know he can’t purify akumas but countless times has he been the one to save Ladybug and Paris. Maybe before you speak you should think a little bit. Or at least do your research.” 

The class was silent, mainly because none of them knew how Felix was going to react but also because how do you move on from that? How on earth could you move on and say something that could top that? Adrien sure as hell didn’t know. But he decided to try. 

“You don’t know either of them personally, so what even makes you think you’re in the position to judge them? Ladybug wants everyone to be safe. She doesn’t want to let anyone down. So much depends on her and her job. You would just crack under the pressure she's in.” Pausing his glare at his cousin, he looked over at Marinette who gave him a smile. “You know, I’m sorry but.. You’ve been nothing but rude to me and most people in this class ever since you got here.” He couldn’t help it. It felt as though it was just him and Felix in the room and he was eager to finally let everything out. “You know you’re the favorite and you constantly use it to your own advantage. My father may love you, but everyone here hates you.”

Marinette felt herself frown, all this time she had been wasting her time with this arrogant, pompous a-hole who only looked out for the benefit of himself. She figured Adrien used the wrong words to try and get Felix away from her. That’s what made sense to her at least. She felt her guilt bubble up inside her the urge to apologize to him was heavy. 

Felix finally opened his mouth, “Well you know what everyone thinks about you?” Felix crossed his arms and raised a brow. “Nothing. They don’t think of you at all. I know I don’t.” 

Everything seemed to happen in a blur. It was quick but ongoing. Marinette could remember Adrien shouting something along the lines of “that’s it!” And the look of horror on Mrs. Bustier’s face when fists were in the air. It was all so fast, and the sounds of hits, scratches, and punches seemed to echo in the room. The overwhelming feeling of sensory overload caused Marinette to panic. 

Adrien was quick to claw at his face and kick his gut while Felix went to punch his face and kick him to the floor. The scene played out like this: both boys scrambling across the floor, the teacher frantically calling the principal, Kim filming the fight, and the others watching absolutely terrified on how the fight would play out. 

Marinette was unsure of what to do but knew this was no time for hesitation. Running in the middle of both boys, she yelled. “Stop it! Both of you!” She was quick to grab Adrien’s torso to pull him away despite his fist just reaching Felix’s nose. She panicked when both boys seemed exhausted, furious, and when she couldn’t tell whose blood was whose. 

Seeing his breaths become even, she turned to make Adrien look at her and not Felix. “Hey, hey, hey. Look at me.” She now could see an open cut on his temple, along with a swollen eye and bloody lips. She could imagine the taste of metal from the iron in his blood. By the time Nino got ahold of Felix, Mr. Damocles was in the head of the doorway pointing at both boys to go into his office.

Marinette never knew what happened in his office, other than not seeing either boy at school for two days. She assumed suspension or something of his fathers doing. But she could imagine the tension that was raised. She couldn’t comprehend how terrible things would be at home though.

Both boys had been in their separate rooms for a whole week, frustrated while they iced their bruises. With no reprimands on either side just yet, Felix grew impatient and entered Adrien’s room, sitting on his bed next to him.

“He’s going to kill us. Or you hopefully.” Felix lifted the ice pack off of his knee and applied it to his stomach. 

Adrien only laughed. The feeling of being beat-up wasn’t exactly new. With battling daily it was easy to get a busted lip. So tasting the dried blood was familiar. “You’d think that right? You’d think that if you acted so badly you would surely get scolded. But that’s not my father.”

Felix could only furrow his eyebrows in confusion and wait for Adrien to continue his point. 

“He could care less about what happens to me as long as I make it on time to every function my manager sets up for me. As long as I make the brand look good. No one will talk about it at school.” 

Felix couldn’t fathom a household like that. “How can you be so sure?”

“Hush money.” He said with a shrug. “When you’re as rich as my dad, money solves all your problems.”

His cousin felt a tang of guilt. He hadn’t realized the severity of his home life. “Sorry.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t make me say it again,” Felix said with a flustered tone. He let out a sigh. “I just. I don’t know what I’d do without my parents. Or if they were... You know..”

“Neglectful?” Adrien helped.

“Yeah. That must be hard.” Felix cleared his throat and steadily hopped off the bed. He couldn't imagine living the life Adrien did. For once, he felt bad for manipulating someone. “I still hate you though.”

Adrien let out a laugh, “It’s mutual, Graham de Vanity. But we can make it one more week” He couldn’t help him smile, feeling like the two of them made a small bit of progress. But his mood completely shifted when he realized that he had patrol and was already fifteen minutes late. Ladybug was literally going to throw him to the Eiffel Tower. 

He stepped out of bed shakily and headed towards the window. With his fist out he was ready.

“Hi.”

Retracting his fist down to his side, he blinked a few times before realizing blushing in embarrassment. “L-Ladybug! Uh. What are you doing here?” Her visit came much to his surprise.

She wanted to remind herself to thank her mask design from hiding her blush. “I’m really sorry if I’m bothering you I just- are you okay?”

With his ice pack in his other hand, a black eye, and a cut on his forehead along with scabs all over his knuckles, he looked down at the floor, ashamed. “I’m fine. It was my fault really.”

Ladybug, who had been outside the window, let herself in and placed a hand on his cheek. She took time to memorize each detail in his face from his insanely small pores and perfect skin to his so green eyes. She lightly tapped his cheek to remove tension from the two of them. “Well, I'm glad you’re taking care of yourself though. But actually that’s not really why I came here.”

Adrien, confused about her arrival at all, sat on his bed. Ladybug sitting down on his couch. “Why are you here then, if you don’t mind my asking.”

Ladybug let herself sigh. “Sometimes everything feels like it’s too much. I think and think until I spiral into overthinking everything and then nothing feels real. I didn’t really know who to talk to. But I know that I didn’t want to be alone tonight. And my partner kind of bailed on me tonight.”

“Well, I wouldn't say he _bailed_ -”

“Huh?”

“Unimportant. Keep going.” 

Ladybug had shifted so that she was facing Adrien completely rather than just turning her head. “I know you don’t understand my job or what it’s like to be in my position. But as a celebrity or famous person, I thought you might relate to me.”

“In what way?” Adrien asked, taking the bait. 

“I feel like there are two parts of me you know.” The hero found it easy to spill her feelings like this. Everything she pent up and wanted to say. But couldn’t. Not as Marinette. “Ladybug and who I really am. I hear people talk about me daily. Both sides. Both negative and positive. I guess I’m scared of getting close to someone because I think they’ll only like one side of me or favor one over the other.” She got up from the couch feeling as though they weren’t close enough to really interpret the conversation. Sitting down next to him she looked down at her hands and asked. “Do you ever feel like no one will truly accept you for _everything_ you are?”

Hearing that was a lot. He wanted to understand but had never felt such an immense feeling of fear. The fact that she trusted Adrien with that meant everything to him. He knew he needed to try and help her feel better. “I know what you mean.” He said with a dry chuckle. “People say they love you when they don’t really know you. Or claim to like you but openly shit on your alter ego. You feel like no one really knows you since you can’t share that kind of information. So everyone’s love or adoration seems hollow. Limited.”

“Exactly,” she said a bit winded. “You took the words right out of my mouth actually. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t going crazy.” She laughed at herself, still embarrassed that she sought him out in the first place.

Adrien still had a bit to offer her, “It’s how we cope with it I guess. I try to justify my actions but only end up making a mess. Tried to protect my friend recently. Found out that I'm terrible at phrasing things.” He sighed and crossed his arms. “I can’t take back what I said and it kills me. All I want is to apologize to her but I'm afraid I'll mess it up again. She doesn't deserve that.”

Ladybug felt her cheeks go red. He really did feel bad... She knew he wasn’t malice or shallow like that. She knew her Adrien... “I-I’m sure she knows how bad you feel. If you try talking about it I’m sure she would understand. You helped me today, it means a lot. She’s lucky to be your friend, Adrien.”

“You think so ?”

“I do.”


	5. Where Did You Get This?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien and Marinette both realize its possible to have two crushes at once. Ladybug finds Chat Noir who has something important to tell her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finished! I loved writing this and I hope you liked reading it! Let me know if I should maybe do a sequel or write another short fic!

Since Adrien’s last conversation with Ladybug, he made it his life mission to apologize to Marinette when he got the chance in both forms. Unfortunately, mother nature was not on his side seeing as school had been canceled for the past two days due to rough weather. He contemplated seeing her as Chat Noir first but knew she wouldn’t be up on her balcony because of said weather. But most of his reasons were mere excuses. In truth, he was terrified. After seeing her go off on Felix in class last week, he had realized he underestimated her abilities as a shy, quiet, and reserved girl. Sure, as Chat Noir he’s gotten to know who she is as a civilian, but he assumed she was just more comfortable with him than anyone else. How she behaved with others was something he wasn’t sure of. 

“Would you stop talking about her?” Plagg’s voice complained. The kwami had been adjacent to Adrien on his bed listening to him spill his thoughts. “Now _YOU’RE_ overthinking.

The blonde felt himself blush. “Sorry. I just-”

“Here we go,” Plagg mumbled, prepared for Adrien to go on a tangent. 

He sat up in bed and sighed. “I just can’t stop thinking about her. Or the way she laughs at one of Alya’s jokes. Or how supportive she is with Nino and his music. How she always wants the best for her friends. How she looked that one time when her hair ties snapped, or the way she scrunches up her nose when she’s thinking.” He smiled to himself, picturing each image he described. “When she smirks at me after making cat-pun when I’m Chat Noir or the face she makes when she knows she could easily kick my ass.”

Plagg watched as Adrien’s face reddened. The kwami thought it was best for Adrien to keep talking until coming up with an obvious conclusion.

“She’s just so... Unlike anyone I’ve ever met. She lets me be myself. Sometimes- Sometimes when I look at her I can't _think_ because-”

“Because you wanna kiss her?” Plagg couldn’t help himself.

Adrien turned to look at his kwami with a shocked expression. He was rendered speechless. He knew she was gorgeous and had a heart of gold and often thought about how soft her hands must feel holding his but... did he have a crush on her? He never really let himself think about it. He was so dead set on believing that room was reserved for Ladybug and Ladybug only. But now with Plagg having him picture himself holding Marinette’s face close, picturing the loving look she would give him, picturing kissing her, he realized that he liked it. _A lot_. Too much. “Shit.”

Then came Plagg’s laughter. “You are so oblivious, kid.”

But taking in this new information made his brain explode. There wasn’t room for someone else! He looked at his kwami with panicked eyes. “This can’t happen... Now I won’t know how to act around her. And I still like Ladybug! A lot!” With a frustrated groan, he put his face in his hands. Everything was confusing. But at least he could finally label that weird, bubbling feeling of confusion and jealousy. He could finally tell himself that he had a crush on Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Who currently thought she was late for school. Running down the stairs to get a bowl of cereal she apologized for lightly pushing her mother out of the way. “Sorry! I’m gonna be late!”

Sabine, who saw her do this every day of the week, just let out a chuckle. “You’re okay today Lao Shu.” _[mouse]._ She handed Marinette the milk before telling her that school had been canceled. 

“Oh,” Marinette said plainly after getting the carton. Then, she whined. “I got dressed for nothing!”

Her mother laughed, “Think of it this way, you’ve got a head start for the next morning!”

_She did not._

Oversleeping, she had thirty minutes to get changed, brush her teeth, wash her face, eat breakfast, and walk to school. So in other words, she was screwed.

Taking fifteen minutes to dress herself, brush her teeth, and wash her face, she scrambled to the kitchen to find something to take on the go. 

Her father, figuring this would happen, packed a bag of croissants for her. Stopping a frantic Marinette, he spoke. “Woah, Woah calm down there, pumpkin. I packed you breakfast. Take this and run! You have ten minutes, Marinette.”

Thankful for her father’s selflessness she graciously accepted the bag and gave him a quick hug. “Thank you! I’ll run now.” Smiling clumsily, she rushed to school and got there two minutes late, _(breaking her record)._

Back to their old seats, Marinette happily plopped next to Alya who had been taking out her notebook. Looking around, she noticed Felix sitting in the back alone. _Figures. Gives him right for behaving like that._ But what was unexpected, was when she was looking in front of her to see a pair of vivacious green eyes staring at her. Making eye contact with Adrien caused her cheeks to redden, whereas his had already been red. They hadn’t spoken since Marinette told Adrien to look at her just after the fight. She was unsure of what he was thinking so she had decided to keep her mouth shut. She offered him a small smile before continuing to get her pens out. 

After their first class was over, conveniently both Marinette and Adrien had an hour time block before their next period. After practicing for hours the night prior on how to apologize to her, he was sure he was ready.

That was until he walked up to her. She had been alone drawing in her sketchbook and he had forgotten how her beauty intensified the closer you got. Staring into her blue eyes he was sure he was blushing. “Marinette I-”

“Wait wait wait! Before you start, I owe you an apology.” She stated. 

Adrien looked confused but let her speak. What on earth did she think she had to apologize for? She had been nothing but perfect in his eyes.

“I’m sorry I didn’t understand what you tried doing for me when we had lunch a few weeks ago. I understand now that your cousin isn’t... The _nicest_ I’ve met. I’m sorry we haven’t been talking because of it. I should have known to trust you. I feel like I could have prevented the fight some way and I’m really sorry you got hurt.”

Her words made Adrien’s heart ache for her. He wanted nothing more than to wrap her in the tightest hug and let her feel safe. He had sorry eyes that wouldn’t stop looking at hers. 

Looking down at the floor, Marinette remembered what Chat Noir told her. “Someone told me that people like Felix of high status and wealth don’t date people like me. I- I wanted to believe it wasn’t true but it is. I have to grow up a little.” She said with a solemn laugh. 

“That’s not true.” He said without hesitation. “I- I think you’re perfect the way you are. Whoever told you that is wrong.” Adrien then noticed Marinette’s shocked expression causing him to fumble. “What I mean is that- I meant that what you have doesn’t define you, Marinette. I uh- I think someone would..”

Marinette confused more than ever, interrupted. “Someone would..?” She had never seen him stutter when he talked to her as her civilian self. He seemed nervous and was acting almost as clumsy as she used to. 

“Love who for you you are.” 

The bluenette looked back at him confused. _“What?”_

“Love you for who you are!” God, he was a mess. “Is what I meant, I mean. Sorry. That was dumb. And cheesy. Unless you didn’t think it was cheesy. Did you think it was cheesy?” Adrien was surprised when he looked up to a giggling Marinette.

“I’ll think anything if you stop saying the word cheesy!” 

Adrien smiled to himself, seeing the way the corners of her eyes crinkled with her adorable laugh. The way she joked around reminded him of their old night terrace rendezvous. Which reminded him, he needed to apologize to her as Chat Noir as soon as possible. 

She playfully wiped pretend tears and smiled, “I thought it was.. Sweet. I appreciate you a lot… Your words, I mean!” She found herself stumbling, “Not that I don’t appreciate you but that I don’t uhm... You know, _APPRECIATE_ you.” She internally facepalmed. She thought she got over her stuttering two years ago! The fact that Adrien could melt her in such a way was a sweet kind of irritating. 

It was the blonde's turn to laugh. He noticed how she had shown a bit of her past self to him causing him to smile. “I get what you mean. I’ll see you around, yeah?”

“Mhm.” 

* * *

Marinette took the rest of her lunch break to study and before she knew it, the day was over. Tired, she walked home and placed her bag on her chaise before diving into her bed. Finally, she could relax since she had finished her homework in her study period. 

Tikki, who needed a stretch, flew out from Marinette’s purse to eat a cookie that had been on a plate next to the chaise. Happily eating, she noticed something was off with Marinette. She was quiet, eyes looking at the ceiling. Tikki assumed she was thinking hard. “Everything okay, Marinette?”

The bluenette looked over at her kwami and plastered on a smile, “I’m fine! Just thinking.” Truth was, she had been feeling confused the past few days. All this drama with her love life made her question her own preferences and crushes. She thought back to when she defended Chat Noir in their class discussion the week prior. It had felt like forever since she had last spoken to him. She could close her eyes and remember his shaggy blonde hair and forest green eyes. She adored his toothy smile and the way they could joke around for hours. She missed his visits, despite how he hurt her feelings. 

Marinette sighed, everything was _too much._ She remembered her conversation with Adrien that afternoon. How she got him to stutter and how he did the same in turn. It felt like middle school again from the way they danced around the subject of conversation and awkwardly looked down at the floor. It was hard to admit, but no matter how hard she tried to pull away from him, she would always have a soft spot for him. 

She figured she still had a small crush on Adrien, but even after sorting that out she felt something was still off. Marinette recalled the night where she danced with Chat Noir. She could still feel his warmth and quiet purrs against her chest. Marinette placed her hands on her hips like he had done and fell into the sweet feeling of his embrace. She had gotten to know him so well, and she always wanted more out of each visit. 

She could feel Chat slipping away from Ladybug and more into Marinette’s grasp. It was confusing but comforting. The idea of Chat Noir falling for her twice. For all of who she was.

“You like him, don’t you?” Her kwami spoke after seeing Marinette battle with her own thoughts. 

Marinette looked over, confused. She hadn’t been speaking aloud, so she wasn’t sure how Tikki could know what she was thinking of. But even if she did, she took a moment to think about what her kwami had said. She knew she loved being around him and that he made her happy, but a _crush?_ She wasn’t sure. Especially after her conversation with Adrien today.

“You know this could really affect your duties as Ladybug. How do you think you could maintain a relationship with your partner as your civilian self?”

The bluenette blinked before responding, “How did you know I was thinking about him?”

Tikki smiled, “I’ve seen the way you look at him, Marinette.”

She felt herself blush. “I’m just confused. I love hanging out with Chat Noir and I love being close with him. But.. but I also can’t get over Adrien. I can’t let him go.” Marinette looked at Tikki and frowned.

Her kwami proposed a second thought, “Forgetting about Adrien for a second, how do you feel about Chat Noir?”

Marinette thought long and hard. “Well... I told you I love hanging out with him. I like the way he laughs. His jokes are dumb but they’re funny.” Marinette caught herself smiling. “I like his eyes. _A lot._ And the way I can tell him anything. I know what makes him laugh when he knows he’s about to cry. I know his favorite songs and he tells me about _every_ one of his dreams and I just can’t help but feel that no one else knows him the way I do. It makes me happy, knowing that he trusts me. But even with our friendship I can’t help but want-”

“More?” Tikki finished for her.

“Yeah. I think you’re right Tikki. I think I have feelings for Chat.”

Tikki begged for Marinette to see a correlation, similarities, something, _anything._ But alas, she did not. “Remember you have patrol with him in an hour.” She gently reminded her holder. 

“I wanted to stop by the fabric store real quick before patrol, is that fine?”

“As long as you’re on time for patrol,” Tikki said with a smile. It had been two years of both heroes obliviously dancing around each other. She was surprised they’ve lasted this long without knowing one another's identities. Their trust and loyalty to one another was unbreakable, but in the end, their love would bring them together. Tikki was sure of it.

So was Adrien.

“I’ve got to tell her I’m sorry,” Adrien said to his kwami who had been eating. 

Plagg burped before turning off the tv. “Yeah, we’ll do that I guess. But if you’re late to patrol don’t blame it on me! I was just sittin here eating my cheese.” He scrunched up his nose to Adrien who rolled his eyes. 

The blonde laughed, taking the remote from Plagg and placing it in the drawer. “Yeah I know, it’ll be my fault. Come on, let’s go.” 

* * *

“Can you believe this weather, Tikki?” Marinette had been carefully stepping around puddles and shaking in her sweater. It was freezing and the rain had been pouring. Luckily she grabbed an umbrella before leaving the house so she wasn’t soaking. Looking at the time, she realized she was going to be late for patrol. “Shoot! Okay, I’ll just quickly transform and drop off my fabrics through my balcony and find Chat at our meetup.” She figured it would be quicker. 

But nothing ever goes according to plan. Umbrella in hand and a bag of fabrics in the other, Ladybug had turned the corner to see Chat Noir in front of her house, soaking.

Shocked, she calmly walked to his aid. “I wouldn’t want your leather to get ruined.” the spotted bug hung a familiar black umbrella under the cat hero, his cheeks flushing brightly.

Realizing Ladybug had found him, he gave her a kind smile before looking at her bag. “Why do you have a bag of fabric with you?”

“ _It’s not important!"_ She said with a blushing smile. Ladybug missed talking to him. 

Hesitantly taking the black umbrella, he noticed the initials “A.A” on the handle, causing himself to squint in an analytical manner. “Where did you get this?” he questioned, his curiosity growing. He only had one umbrella like it and he distinctly remembered giving that to Marinette when they first became friends.

Ladybug looked at the umbrella and smiled to herself. “Uhm. It was about two years ago.” She said remembering the day. “I had gotten out of class and forgot to bring mine. I met this boy a few days before and thought he was sticking gum to my seat, so I didn’t really like him.”

Chat listened intently, the story sounding too familiar to be different. His heart was racing as a million different thoughts rushed in his head.

“But, he offered me his umbrella and I realized it was a misunderstanding. I sort of had a crush on him for a while. Still kinda do. But that’s not important!” Ladybug said, changing the subject, “You were _soaking!_ And in front of _my_ \- a random bakery. Why didn’t you go to our meetup area?” 

Chat could only look at Ladybug. Look at her pigtails and connect how they obviously belonged to Marinette. Look at how Ladybug’s bluebell eyes were so obviously Marinette’s along with her bright smile and clumsy mannerisms. Of course it’s her. The irony of his situation killed him. Looking back on every akuma attack it was obvious, plain as day. 

Of course Ladybug is Marinette. She was strong, independent, and easily took on a role of leadership. She was creative and kind and responsible. He recognized these qualities in both of her forms. He felt like an _idiot_ for not realizing it sooner. Then, he smiled. He had realized he had fallen for the same girl _twice._ He didn’t want to let go of either of them and having this revelation was the best possible outcome for him. 

“Uh hello?” Ladybug lowered her eyebrows, waving a hand in his face. “Earth to Chat?”

Adrien then let himself remember why he was in front of her house in the first place. He figured now would be a better time to apologize. “I- I wanted to say I’m sorry. I know I kind of ghosted you these past few weeks-”

“I mean, the apology is appreciated considering you ditched me during the last patrol but it was fine, I got a good conversation with someone out of it.”

_Yeah, me._

“I mean I know we haven’t really seen each other this past month since there hasn’t been many akumas but that’s good, right? I don’t think an apology is really necessary, Chat.”

The blonde held his grip on the umbrella. “That’s not why I’m apologizing.” He watched Ladybug tilt her head in confusion. _Now or never,_ he told himself. “You asked me if I ever felt insecure that no one will ever love _all_ of me. The thing I don’t understand is, who wouldn’t love all of you Marinette? You’re perfect. Patrol is just a perfect excuse to get to know you better.. Along with our late-night terrace discussions. I know I hurt you a lot this whole month but I _swear_ I had good intentions and I just want to see you happy. I didn’t mean to be so terrible at phrasing things and I’ve been wanting to apologize for a while.” 

Marinette, panicked and confused, spoke. “Was it the fabrics!?”

“Huh?”

“That’s how you know it was me, right?” Ladybug sighed, there was no use denying it. She had to accept that and the consequences that would follow. “I don’t love that you found out but I’d appreciate it if I knew how. Tikki is going to kill me, I should have been more careful I-”

Chat Noir smiled, knowing he caught her red-handed. _(Pun intended!)._ “Marinette, it wasn’t the fabrics. You’re holding the umbrella I gave you.”

Now Ladybug laughed, “That’s funny, Chat. Now tell me how you seriously found out.” She looked into his eyes, realizing he was sincere. Then, at his very wet blonde hair and patient smile his alter ego would give her. Looking into his bright green eyes, she realized that only one other person had eyes as inviting as his. “Adrien.” She said a bit breathless.

How could she not see that? She was internally slapping herself. They practically look identical! It explains why Chat Noir had been unintentionally rude a couple of weeks ago. But damn, it was hard to wrap her head around. She remembered missions and patrols and study sessions and began to point out all of their similarities. At least she didn’t have to pick a side anymore right?

Still, the situation was bittersweet. “What happens now?” She calmly asked, looking into his eyes.

“Well right now I’m just kind of wondering if you like me back, Marinette.” Chat felt himself blush. “Because I like you. All of you. Have for a while.”

Ladybug blinked in surprise, it caught her off guard. With their identities out of the way, it made everything transparent. She liked Adrien. And Chat Noir. And here he was, confessing in front of her. It felt natural to smile and grab his hand, so she did. “The feeling is mutual, Chaton.” She watched as he smiled. It was a sight she’d love to get used to. 

She knew knowing each other's identities would make missions harder. She knew that if they were ever to get hurt by Hawkmoth it would ache a thousand times more now. She knew loving him was complicated and infuriating. But it was also easy. And it made sense to her. She knew they would get through it together. Like they always had.

So that evening, they patrolled the city and talked for hours. Laughed about the irony of their situations and discussed instances where they almost accidentally revealed themselves. Finally getting to know one another as a whole was a privilege they were both lucky to have and they knew that with their newly blossoming relationship, they would become closer in a way they have never been before.

The next day was exciting for both of them, cherishing any time they had together. Marinette was on time for school for once and happily greeted Adrien with a hug. “Morning!” She said with a silly grin, it made his insides melt.

Graciously returning the hug, Adrien felt his cheeks burn. “You’re cheery this morning! What’s gotten you in such a good mood?” 

Catching onto his goofy banter, she let go of the hug and gave a fake frown. “Actually, it’s a _sad_ day for _many._ Haven’t you heard? Famous model and teen sensation Adrien Agreste has got a girlfriend!” 

The blonde’s eyes widened, neither of them had discussed labels before. Getting to call Marinette his girlfriend sounded wonderful, but as Marinette saw his eyes go wide she dropped her joke.

“U-Unless that’s not what you had in mind..” She felt embarrassed but her worries were calmed as soon as Adrien cupped her cheeks and smiled sincerely.

“Are you _kidding?_ Being your boyfriend would be the greatest honor… _Milady_.” He gave her a gentlemanly bow, smiling to himself as he heard her laugh.

Marinette took this as an opportunity to ask him a question. “So.. Do you think we should tell Alya and Nino?”

“Tell us what?” Just then, both Nino and Alya had been on the school’s front steps, entering the conversation.

Adrien took a deep breath and turned to his friends. “Well,” he said to get things started. “Marinette and I are no longer friends. He put his hands in his pockets and anticipated a reaction.

Marinette noticed how their friends gasped in disappointment, causing her to facepalm. “You’re an idiot.” 

“Am I missing something?” Alya asked in bewilderment. The day Marinette causally called Adrien an idiot was one she never thought she’d see. 

The bluenette sighed, “What he meant to say... Was that-”

“Can I say it?”

“What?” Marinette turned her head to see Adrien giving her begging eyes.

“Come on Mari I wanna say it!” He gave her a Cheshire cat smile and she couldn’t resist giving one back.

Nino, growing curious, crossed his arms. “Will someone just tell us the news already?”

Letting out a laugh, Marinette waved her hand in dismissal. “Alright, alright fine. We’re-”

“Dating!” The blonde interrupted. “Marinette is my girlfriend.” Adrien excitedly grabbed her hand and intertwined their fingers together with a stupid grin.

She hadn’t heard him say it out loud until now, but just him saying the word _girlfriend_ gave her butterflies. He looked so happy. She did too. 

She was his girlfriend. A new title she loved to hear. Her grip on his hand was tight and secure, feeling as though a moment as perfect as this could slip away from her. _But this was real, isn't it?_ She told herself as she breathed in the scene, remembering each cloud and color that was in her line of sight.

This was a new beginning, a new chapter, and she was certain she was getting close to her happily ever after. Maybe she wasn’t rich, or famous, but she had love and support, and that’s all she could ever really ask for. Because when she looked into Adrien’s green eyes, she knew that there was someone who appreciated all of her, and she was content. 

Marinette looked down at their collided hands and smiled to herself. She really did love him. But when she’d tell him that? Well, that’s another story.


End file.
